Two thirds of customers do not believe the financial services industry can be trusted, according to Deloitte’s Restoring Trust in the Financial Services in the Digital Era report commissioned by Salesforce.
The report, which surveyed 1,005 customers in Australia and New Zealand, found that 20 per cent of customers thought the financial services industry failed to meet most of their expectations, while 30 per cent of wealth management customers and 25 per cent of insurance customers intended to switch providers in the next one to two years.
Customers laid out the intention to seek alternative services, with 38 per cent of customers considering personal financial management fintechs, 35 per cent considering superannuation fintechs and 34 per considering banking fintechs.
Privacy and data was an increasing concern with 29 per cent of customers less willing to share personal information and data than they were six months ago.
Fifty-eight per cent, however, said they would still share personal and financial data with their own providers to access higher quality products and services.
Regional vice president at Salesforce, John Moran, said pressure on the industry to improve the customer experience and rebuild trust continued to grow, with millennials in particular leading the move to alternative providers and services.
“Customer relationship management technology has never been more important to the industry with the need to rebuild relationships and deliver the level of transparency and customer experience expected today,” he said.
“Building deeper and more personal relationships with customers will separate successful companies in financial services from the crowd.”
Deloitte digital partner, Brad Milliken, said ethical intent was no longer sufficient, and firms needed to be active in improving outcomes.
“Our research shows that an organisation’s trustworthiness is impacted by three pillars: ethical intent, capabilities and an alignment to customer interests,” he said.
“They need the right people, systems and processes and our survey identifies systems to protect customer’s data and privacy as key.”
